Bakelite
Baquelita
- Date
- 1907 · confidence high
- Place
- Yonkers, New York, United States
- Credited to
- Leo Baekeland
- People
- 👤 Leo Baekeland1863–1944
- Field
- Matter & energy
What it is
First fully synthetic plastic, a thermosetting resin of phenol and formaldehyde, insulating and mouldable. It inaugurated the age of plastics.
What it led to
- Electrical components and cheap radios
- Industrial design of moulded objects
- The plastics petrochemical industry
Built on
- Celluloid1862-1870
- Coal-tar phenol chemistry
Made possible
- Polymers as covalent macromolecules (Staudinger)1920-1922
- Plasticized PVC1912–1926
- Polystyrene1930–1931
- Electrical insulators
- Radio and telephone casings
- Thermosetting plastics